Goblin Slippers
by Artemis J. Halk
Summary: A twist on a classic fairy-tale. Sarah has been in the Underground for many years now, and has accepted a quiet job as a lady's maid while she bides her time until she can return home. However, things take a very unexpected turn when Hoggle gives her a pair of magic, goblin-made slippers and an invitation to Jareth's ball.
1. Chapter 1

This was a story that I started sometime around Christmas 2015. I had fully intended to work on it until it was finished, and then upload it for everybody to enjoy. However, depressing events in that January put pretty much everything on the back burner for me. I couldn't even work on this particular fic without wanting to burst into tears.

I started to rewrite what little that I'd written sometime over the summer, when I was starting to feel like I could think about everything without crying. However, at the time, I was starting to enter a really long period of mental constipation. (I'm certain that other writers on here know what that feels like all too well.) So I couldn't write more than a line or two before I would just come up blank.

Finally, a few days ago, I was looking for something to start working on before I went to bed, and my eye just landed on the folder for this. I opened it, certain that nothing would have changed since the last time that I'd opened the file. However, after catching up with what I'd already done, changing a few things here and there... suddenly! I was writing again!

I'm certain that this story turned out a lot different than it would have if I'd completed it sometime in January 2016. But that story was obviously not meant to be.

Regardless, I hope that you all enjoy this story!

Oh, and this story has not been proof-read, so if you spot any errors in this or the following chapters, please let me know so that I can fix them! Thanks in advance!

* * *

Sarah Williams could categorize her life in terms of Before and After. Her Before wasn't all that great, but she seemed like a princess in comparison to the After.

Of course, just because she spent most of her free time thinking about her Before, didn't mean that there weren't things that she tried desperately not to think about.

When her mother left. When her father remarried. When her baby brother was born.

Him.

Out of everything that she tried not to think about, He was the hardest to not think about. When she met Him, it was the start of the end. It set her onto the path that led her to the After.

She rested her elbow on the windowsill and looked out at the sky. It was an early day for her—she was lucky that she was able to get to enjoy the sunset. She sat in silence and watched as the sky shifted from blue to orange to purple, and finally, a rich, navy color.

The sight made her slightly homesick. She used to watch sunsets with Toby. It was a sweet yet simple memory from Before.

She wrapped her arms around her knees and continued to watch the sky as the stars came out, one by one. They were different than back home. She didn't know the names of the constellations, or if they even had constellations and stories about the stars here.

But she could pretend for two seconds that things were the same, that she'd go to sleep and wake up back home. That the entirety of the After was just some… fever-induced dream.

Sarah heaved a deep sigh and moved reluctantly away from the window. It was a peaceful moment, where she was allowed to breathe. However, in a few hours, the screaming would begin anew. Just like it had that morning, the morning before that, the morning before that… As it had ever since the start of the After.

She lay down on the narrow mat that served as her bed and pulled the threadbare blanket up to the chin. From her position, she could still see a thin strip of the sky.

* * *

Sarah remembered sleeping in until she couldn't sleep anymore. She hadn't been able to do that once since the After. She hadn't had a day off once.

But there was entirely too much work to do now. Her mistress was prone to screaming at Sarah for any sort of screw-up, and the screaming would be even worse if Sarah hadn't gotten up hours before she did in order to get everything ready for the day.

She yawned loudly as she walked down the narrow stairs to the kitchens. She scratched absently at her head under her headscarf. Her scalp was starting to itch something fierce—it was probably time for another bath.

However, they were a luxury that she couldn't afford. Only the rich could afford to do nothing but sit in a tub of water. Sarah was lucky if she was able to wash her clothes once a month.

That had been one of the hardest things that she'd had to get used to. She could deal with going to bed late and waking up early. She could live off of the scraps of what the family didn't want to eat. But to not bathe every day? To wear the same clothes for a month without washing them? It was too much for her, even after all of the time that she'd been there.

The kitchen was cold and dark when Sarah walked into it. The only source of light was a few embers in the fire from the night before.

"Wake up please," Sarah said as she passed by the goblin who was fast asleep on the kitchen island. Erna gave a loud snort as she awoke, and then rubbed her dripping nose off on her arm.

"Good morning, Sarah," the elderly goblin said. She was as blind as a bat and deaf as a post. Sarah didn't know exactly how old that Erna was, but she guessed that it was around a million years old. And here, that was no exaggeration. However, she was the best cook that Sarah had ever met. She was the only bit of sunshine in Sarah's abysmal After.

"Good morning, Erna," Sarah said as she piled fresh logs into the old, brick fireplace. "You do know that you have a perfectly good bed upstairs, right?"

"Eh, with my back and my knees and my hips and my toenails and my hips-"

"You said that already," Sarah said with a little laugh.

"It's not easy being old, Sarah," Erna said as she hopped down from the stool where she'd spent the night. She started to bustle around the kitchen to get breakfast ready. "You should count your blessings that you're human, and that you won't live to be as old as I am."

"I know," Sarah said with a sigh. She'd had the same conversation with Erna practically every day of her After.

Erna's memory wasn't as sharp as it once was. Sarah was just grateful that the old woman remembered her name now. For the first year or so, she'd called Sarah "Kristin", who had been the maid that was there before Sarah.

Sarah had just gotten the fire roaring, ready for Erna to cook with, when one of the bells on the bell panel rang. Both women looked over to see who was awake.

"Ah, Lady Lucia," Erna said as she adjusted the coke-bottle glasses on her long, hooked nose. "She's up awfully early, don't you think?"

"Yes, she is," Sarah agreed as she brushed past Erna on her way up to the servant's halls to get to Lady Lucia's quarters. "I'll go see what she wants. Probably a glass of water before she falls back asleep for another five hours or so." She rolled her eyes, grateful that Erna was on her side about their mistress's bratty, spoiled daughters.

Sarah knocked on the door to Lady Lucia's quarters before she opened it and walked in. Lucia was still in bed with a dour look on her face.

"Oh my gods, what took you so long?" Lucia asked. Her voice always seemed to be high pitched and whiny, even when she wasn't complaining about things. Sarah forced herself to keep from snapping at Lucia, and sunk into a curtsy.

"What can I do for you, Lady Lucia?" she asked calmly.

"I have important business to take care of in town today, so I need to get up," Lucia said. "Sasha, fetch my puce dress."

Sarah bit her cheek to prevent herself from saying something rude. Instead, she turned around and went into Lucia's large, walk-in closet. It was probably twice the size of Sarah's room up in the attics. It always ticked her off whenever she had to go into the closets, which was at minimum, three times a day, since the ladies could not dress themselves. The size always reminded her that they had so much, and yet, gave Sarah so little.

Sarah grabbed the first pink dress that she saw and carried it out for Lucia's inspect.

"Oh my gods, no! Are you blind? That's disgusting! I said that I wanted puce, not carnation!" Lucia flung the coves back and jumped out of bed. She roughly pushed Sarah aside as she went into the closet.

"Here," Lucia said as she tossed several dresses at Sarah. They all looked the same color as the dress that she'd originally pulled out. "Well? What are you waiting for, Sally? Hold the up so that I can properly see them!"

Sarah bit back yet another rude remark— all of the dresses in the closet were on proper display. How exactly did Lucia expect for Sarah to do a better job of displaying the dresses than the dress racks had?

But she somehow managed to hold all seven of the dresses up and Lucia had nothing to say about that. Lucia absently pulled on one dress, and then another before she pointed to a third.

"This one," she said. "Help me change."

Sarah moved to put the other dresses on the edge of Lucia's bed, and then she helped Lucia take off her nightgown. Before Sarah had started to work as a lady's maid, she'd always thought that the stories of women needing help getting dressed were just exaggerations.

Sure, she understood that a lot of those dresses had about a hundred tiny buttons up the back, and it was literally impossible to put on a corset by yourself. And yes, it was a status symbol to wear such things.

But the three women's inability to even so much as manage a single button on their own was completely outstanding. A button!

Sarah remembered when she was very little, her mom's oldest sister had made her a book that was full of little things: buttons to button, zippers to zip, pieces of string to braid. It was supposed to teach infant Sarah fine motor skills.

However, in the world of the rich, you could apparently pay somebody to literally button things for you. Since Sarah had started to work there, she'd found out a whole lot of things that people could do when they didn't have to worry about silly things like cooking or cleaning up after themselves.

Sarah absently thought about all of this as she helped Lucia into her dress, put her shoes on for her, and then did her hair.

"Tell the driver to bring the carriage around the back," Lucia said once Sarah was finished with her hair. "I don't want to wake mumsie or Antonia."

"Of course, milady," Sarah said. She gave a slight curtsy before she turned and left the room. Lucia followed after her, but turned to go down the main stairs rather than to slink through the servant's halls like some commoner.

The driver was the only other servant at the house, but he kept separate quarters, in a small room above the carriage house. Sarah ran up there now, since she knew that he'd still be asleep. Unlike herself and Erna, he only worked whenever the ladies wished to go somewhere.

"Ivar! Ivar, wake up!" Sarah said as she pounded on the door to his room. A moment later, the door cracked open and she came face-to-face with the young half-goblin.

"What do you want?" he grumbled.

"Lady Lucia is requesting that you bring the carriage around back so that she can go into town."

"It's the butt-crack of dawn. What the fuck is she doing awake?"

"The hell if I know," she said with a scowl as she turned to leave. She went back inside, only to find Erna stomping around and muttering angrily under her breath.

"What happened?" Sarah asked when she saw the cook.

"Lady Lucia rang for some tea, and since you were out fetching Ivar, I brought it up to her. She got upset and threw not only the best teapot at me, but also a cup to boot! What an ungrateful brat! If she doesn't want to look at goblins, then why does she continue to live in the Goblin Kingdom? Or keep goblins as staff?"

Sarah let out a frustrated sigh. She knew that the cost of both the teapot as well as the teacup would come out from Erna's next paycheck. Erna made little enough as it was, and she'd probably still be paying it off for a few months.

It had happened to Sarah a few times. Not like Sarah had much to buy, but Erna needed the money to help support her family.

"I'll deal with her," Sarah said after a beat of silence. She left the kitchen and went into the informal dining room. Although it hardly fit any prior definition of the word "informal", as it was overly stuff and ornate. Lucia was there with a cup of tea sitting in front of her.

"There you are, Sally," Lucia said. "That dreadful goblin woman that we keep on staff came up to try and give me some tea. I don't know why we keep her around. Is the carriage ready?"

"It will be ready shortly, milady," Sarah said as curtly as she could.

She saw where Lucia had thrown pot and cup; both had apparently hit the wall, and had created a horrible stain down the wallpaper. It was bad enough having to clean up Lucia's messes, but having to clean the wallpaper would take ages. Sarah mentally groaned before she walked across the room and started to pick up the larger pieces of porcelain.

The cup was beyond repair, but maybe Erna could do some magic and fix the teapot. Sarah piled the pieces into her apron, and put the pieces on the kitchen counter.

Ivar ducked his head in through the back door. "The carriage is ready," he said simply.

"I'll go tell Lucia," Sarah said. She spun around and stomped back upstairs.

* * *

After Sarah saw Lucia off, she went back inside to help Erna fix breakfast for Antonia and Lady Marit.

"There now, it's almost as good as new!" Erna said as she stood back from the teapot. With a little bit of magic, the elderly goblin had been able to cobble together the broken pieces into something that more or less resembled the original teapot. There were a few new cracks, but Sarah just wouldn't use that one anymore.

"It's a shame that the teacup was beyond repair," Sarah said as she arranged toast triangles and bacon ornately on a plate for Lady Marit.

"Yes, but what they don't know won't hurt them," Erna said with a wink. "And given the way that Lady Lucia snuck off, I highly doubt that she'll want to explain to her mother why she was up at such an hour in order to throw both cup and pot to begin with!"

"Ugh, those girls," Sarah said as one of the bells rang. "Their stupidity is going to be the end of the them some day."

"That's Lady Marit; you'd better go," Erna said as she adjusted her glasses again.

Sarah quickly put the plate and a steaming cup of tea onto the breakfast tray, picked it up, and practically ran from the room.

When she'd first started working at the house, she wouldn't have been able to do something like that. She hadn't exactly been clumsy Before, but she lacked the grace of being able to carry a tray of food and drink while running up several flights of stairs without spilling a single drop.

"Ah, Sadie, thank you," Marit said when Sarah came into her bedroom. "I'll have you lay out my purple and golden gown. I have a feeling that I'll be wanting to look my best today."

"Of course, milady," Sarah said as she put the tray carefully over Marit's lap. Once she'd set the tray down, she went to fetch the dress from Marit's closet. She bit back her rage as she did so, and laid the dress over the foot of Marit's overly large bed.

"Thank you. You are dismissed for the moment," Marit said with a wave of her hand. Sarah curtsied before she left the room.

She went directly into the informal dining room, where she'd set out a bucket of soapy water and some rags earlier. Then, she started to scrub at the tea-stained wall.

As she scrubbed, she started to reflect on the things that had brought her here. To the Underground. She was so lost in thought that she completely lost all track of time.

"Sarah!" Erna exclaimed as she burst into the room. "Lady Antonia is ringing for you! You'd better go, quickly! Give me that!" Erna marched over to Sarah and snatched the rag from her hands. "I'll see what my magic can do to hide that stain. At least, until Lady Antonia has finished her breakfast!"

"Thank you, Erna," Sarah said breathlessly as she ran over to the servant's halls so that she could go up to Antonia's quarters.

"Ugh, you are fucking worthless!" Antonia roared at Sarah. "I've been ringing for you for the past five minutes or so! Help me get dressed!" Antonia flung a dress at Sarah and then yanked off her dressing gown.

"Yes, of course, milady," Sarah said absently as she smoothed the dress out on the edge of Antonia's bed. Then, she went to go get a corset.

* * *

Antonia either wasn't very observant, or Erna's magic hid the tea-stained wall very well, because Antonia didn't even so much as glance over to where her younger sister had thrown to teapot and cup earlier. Sarah was willing to bet on the former, though.

After Antonia had gone into the library following her brunch, Sarah took the breakfast dishes down to the kitchen.

"Your magic is so wonderful, Erna," Sarah said as she stacked everything by the sink. "I wish that I could do magic."

"Eh, it's not always so great," Erna said. "Some people come to rely upon it so much that they forget how to do things for themselves. There's something nice about having a human as the new maid Sarah. I just put a conceal spell over the wall, though. It'll wear off eventually, so you'll have to go and finish cleaning it up. Go on, then! Shoo! I have luncheon to prepare."

Sarah gave a slight bob of her head before she dashed up the stairs and slipped into the informal dining room. It was two hours until noon, so she hoped to have the stain cleaned off before Antonia and Marit came in for luncheon.

After Sarah deemed the wall to be as good as she was going to be able to get it right now, she hurried off to clean up Antonia's, Lucia's, and Marit's rooms. She made the beds, put away all of the clean clothes, reshelved books, ran a rag over any surfaces that would collect dust, and gathered dirty clothes in a basket.

Although Marit lived in a huge manor house with ten bedrooms, Sarah only had to clean them out once a month, in case a guest dropped by unexpectedly for the night. However, that was very few and far between, and Sarah now knew the rooms to put the guests in. So unless she was hosting some big party, some rooms could do with only being cleaned out every other month instead.

Sarah went back downstairs with the basket of dirty laundry, and started to sort everything for the wash. Much to Sarah's surprise, there were some things that were very similar in the Underworld and Aboveworld. Although they used magic instead of electricity, they still had the concept of a washing machine.

Dirty clothes go in. Clean clothes come out.

Sarah still wasn't quite sure how the magic worked, but it made her job just a tiny bit easier, so she wouldn't question it.

Just as she'd started the white load, a bell rang. Erna and Sarah looked to the bell board in unison.

"Who'd ring the bell?" Erna asked with confusion as she saw that it was from the back door. Sarah and Erna were on friendly terms with all of the delivery people, and they knew to just come in. Possibly have a cup of tea and catch up on local gossip.

Sarah wiped her slightly damp hands off on a towel and went to answer the door.

"Hoggle!" she gasped with surprise when she saw who it was.

"Afternoon, Miss Sarah," he said as he pulled his hat off. "It's real good to see you."

"It's so good to see you, too!" Sarah exclaimed. She bent over and hugged her old friend tightly.

Hoggle had been instrumental in not only helping Sarah to get back to the Underworld, but also to help her find the maid job with Lady Marit. While it wasn't ideal, it sure beat some of the other jobs offered in the Goblin Kingdom, such as "trash digger" or "bog bottler".

However, Hoggle had been given the title of "Bog Prince" following the events that had transpired in the Kingdom nearly a decade earlier. They had thought that it was just a worthless, fluff title, but He worked Hoggle to the bone, often using him for fool's errands and such. So Sarah rarely saw him.

However, it was better than nothing. She only heard of what Ludo and Sir Didymus were doing thanks to the infrequent visits from Hoggle, and hadn't seen either of them once.

"What brings you by today? Do you have time for some tea?"

"Yes, but just a quick cup," Hoggle said as he followed Sarah into the kitchen. "I'm here on official business. I came by the back door so that I could see you. I know that Lady Marit works you to the bone, and she wouldn't want something so embarrassing on her or her family to come about. But this is for you."

He pulled an envelope out from his breast pocket and handed it to her. Erna's already comically over-sized eyes went even wider behind her glasses as Sarah took it.

The envelope itself reeked of wealth and having too much money to throw around. It wasn't addressed to anybody, but there was His green, wax seal holding the envelope closed. Sarah quickly broke it in order to pull out the enclosed letter.

The room was filled with eager anticipation as Hoggle and Erna watched as Sarah read the letter. "What's it say? What's it say! My poor, old heart can't take it!" Erna finally begged the woman.

"It's a ball," Sarah whispered quietly. Then, she repeated it, louder, for Erna to actually be able to hear. "His Majesty is holding a ball. It says that he's inviting all of the young women in the kingdom to attend."

"A ball! How romantic!" Erna gasped. She pressed her face between her hands and she beamed brightly. "Why, if only I was five millennia younger…" She started to hum to herself as she finished fixing Hoggle's tea.

"Why did you give this to me?" Sarah asked Hoggle. She kept her voice low, so that Erna couldn't hear.

"Like I said, I doubted that Lady Marit would let you go. It would be a huge embarrassment, to have one's personal maid show up to the Royal Ball."

"No, that's not what I meant," Sarah hissed. "This is a false hope! There's no way that I could go to something like this! I would be laughed out the door, because this is the only thing I have to wear!" She pulled on the skirt of her patch-work and dirty dress.

"I do have something else for you, but I'll have to come back later to give them to you," Hoggle said slowly. "Don't worry about it, though, Sarah. These things always have a way of working out."

"In fairytales, maybe. Not in reality. I'm a maid, in case you've forgotten."

Hoggle only just offered up an absent shrug before he threw back the last of his tea. "I should speak with Lady Marit and her unpleasant crotchfruit now."

"I'll announce you. Please wait in the study for them," Sarah said. Hoggle knew his way around the house well, and didn't need Sarah to guide him there.

Sarah went up and found both Marit and Antonia in the library. Antonia was trying desperately to plink out a tune on the harpsichord, but Sarah wished that she would give up any effort as music and put the poor harpsichord out of its misery. Marit was reading a novel and simultaneously trying to ignore Antonia's music yet encourage her at the same time.

"Lady Marit, the Bog Prince has come with a message from His Majesty," Sarah said to Marit quietly.

"WHAT?!" Antonia exclaimed as she immediately stopped playing. "Mama, how does my hair look? Do you think that I look skinny enough?"

"You look fine to greet the Bog Prince, darling," Marit said softly as she ran a hand over Antonia's hair. "He is, after all, both a dwarf-goblin hybrid, as well as the Bog Prince. He is nothing. Where is he, Sarina? Did you offer him any refreshments?"

"I showed him into the library and Erna said that she'd get tea for him right away, Lady Marit," Sarah said curtly.

"Very well, let's go, Antonia. Sarika, would you be a dear and fetch Lucia, too? I don't know where the silly thing has run off to today," Marit said as she ushered Antonia out from the room.

"I'm afraid Miss Lucia is not in," Sarah said quickly.

Marit stopped in her tracks and shot daggers at Sarah from over her shoulder. "What did you just say?"

"Miss Lucia left this morning, a little after dawn. She took the carriage. Said she had important business to attend to."

"And you didn't ask her why… No, never mind. The work of a Lady like my daughter would be well above your head, Saija. But honestly! That daughter of mine! What could possibly be more important than meeting with the Bog Prince on behalf of His Majesty?"

They set off again, which let Sarah breathe for a moment. Even if she had bothered to ask Lucia where she was going, she doubted that Lucia would have answered, let alone done so honestly.

"Whatever," Antonia said with a scoff. "It's not like we need her anyway. More for me." She hurried off to the study. Marit followed after her daughter without so much as a backwards glance at Sarah.

Sarah went around to the servant's entrance that opened up into the study, and listened at the door. Hoggle announced that there would be a ball, and that all eligible women were to attend.

"A ball!" Antonia gasped. "Mother, do you know what this means? It means that His Majesty must be looking for a bride!"

"Yes, of course, darling," Marit said quietly. "Thank you, Sir Hoggle. We are looking forward to this immensely." Sarah then saw Marit move to the bell pull on the wall through the crack in the door. She waited a moment before she went into the room to not give away that she'd been listening.

"Sir Hoggle is leaving now," Marit said dismissively. She was clearly glad that he was leaving, and didn't try to hide her disgust over him. Marit and Antonia swept from the room; Antonia would not stop talking about the ball and the kind of dress that she would have made.

"Pieces of work, aren't they?" Hoggle whispered once they were out of ear-shot.

"You have no idea," Sarah said sourly. She walked him to the front door.

"I look forward to seeing you at the ball, though," Hoggle said, his voice low.

"And I still don't have anything to wear," Sarah reminded him.

"Ah, but wait!" Hoggle exclaimed. His eyes went wide. "I do have something else for you! I completely forgot! But I don't have it with me; I'll have to come back."

"You don't have to give me anything else, Hoggle," Sarah said quickly. "Just seeing you is enough to make me happy."

"Regardless, I have it, and I will give it to you, Sarah. I'll be by later with it." He then left the house and started down the front steps. His carriage was waiting just beyond the gate, which was why Marit nor Antonia had noticed it.

Sarah closed the door and then turned to go back to her endless list of chores.


	2. Chapter 2

Fixed a tiny spelling error...

* * *

It was late, nearing midnight, and Sarah was just about deciding to call it a night. Then, a bell gave a chime. She and Erna both turned to see who was calling for them, and were surprised to see that it was the back door once again.

"Who's calling at this hour?" Erna said as she adjusted her glasses.

"I'll send them away," Sarah said with a resigned sigh. She stormed over to the door, beyond ready to tell off whoever would bother the house so late, despite the fact that she and Erna were very much still awake. However, her annoyance quickly switched to joy when she saw that it was Hoggle.

"Sorry for coming back so late, but I've been running around town all day today to deliver invitations," Hoggle said. "But, as promised, your other gift, Sarah." He held up a box that was carefully wrapped with scraps of old newspaper.

The act of wrapping presents was not something that was practiced in the Underworld, but it was something that Hoggle had started to do for Sarah. However, there wasn't exactly an overabundance of paper that could be used for the sole purpose of wrapping things. Even with his status as the Bog Prince, Hoggle couldn't afford anything more than old newspaper.

"Come in," Sarah said as she stepped back.

"Who was at the- Hoggle! I'm surprised to see you twice in one day," Erna said with a huge smile on her face.

"Yes. Sorry for the late-night intrusion, but I promised Sarah that I had something else for her."

"First an invitation to the ball, and now a present? You spoil the girl, Hoggle," Erna teased him.

"Anyway, open it!" Hoggle said as he shoved the box at Sarah.

She sat down at the sparse servant's table and pulled the paper off from the box before she lifted the lid off. "Oh Hoggle, they're beautiful!" she gasped. Inside were two beautiful slippers. Navy blue with silver thread to make up little stars. "But, I can't accept these. I could never wear them— Lady Marit would take them away from me."

"She wouldn't be able to wear them, even if she did take them," Hoggle said. "They're goblin slippers, woven with magic. Once they belong to you, they can never be worn by anybody ever again."

"Oh, I've heard of those! But almost nobody knows how to make them anymore. It's a dying art. I'm surprised that you could come up with a pair, Hoggle. And for Sarah, too," Erna said. She gave him a stern look, but he ignored it.

"Try them on, Sarah. Please? For me?"

"Okay, fine. But then they'll go back into the box and hidden in my room. Even if Her Royal Crotchfruit can't wear them doesn't mean that they wouldn't throw them away just to be nasty," Sarah said. She carefully lifted the slippers out from the box. She was surprised at how sturdy that they felt, despite how delicate that they appeared. They were also exceptionally soft, seemingly made from silk, yet somehow softer than any silk dress that Sarah handled.

She kicked her own shoes off— sturdy, work shoes. In a no-nonsense color of brown. They were worn, and she hadn't gotten a new pair since she'd started working for the family. She pulled first the left slipper on, and was surprised that it fit her foot perfectly. She then pulled the other slipper on, and stood.

"Oh!" she gasped as she twirled around. "It's like I'm walking on clouds!" She sat back down suddenly and quickly pulled them off her feet.

"What's wrong, Sarah?" Hoggle asked her with a look of worry.

"It's just… I can't accept these." She held them back out to him.

"I told you, Sarah: they can't be worn by anybody else. They're for you," he said quietly. He pushed the slippers back to her. "I should go. Sorry again for bothering you so late." He quickly left, and they heard the back door close.

Sarah stuffed the slippers back into the box, and put the lid back on. "I'm going to bed," she said in a rush as she ran for the stairs to the attic.

In her room, Sarah pried up the loose floorboard under her mattress. She kept a few mementos from her Before in the tiny space. A photo of her family. A golden locket. A battered copy of The Labyrinth.

She'd come with a lot more, but she'd had to sell most of it before Hoggle had found the job working as Marit's maid for her. She sometimes imagined that she'd earn enough in order to buy back her things, but as of late, that was nothing more than a fantasy. Marit barely paid her enough to survive, and not enough to ever leave. Not unless Sarah wanted to sell off the locket.

Saddened at the sight of her few personal belongings that Marit nor her daughters would ever be able to touch, Sarah quickly lowered the box into the hole and replaced the floorboard. She then moved the mattress back over it, and it was like nothing had happened at all.

She lay down on the bed and stared up at the strip of sky that she could see from her position.

* * *

The next few weeks were a whirl of activity. It was even worse than whenever Marit decided to host parties. She wanted to make sure that her daughters looked their best so that they'd attract His Attention.

However, in Sarah's opinion, there was a fine line between wanting to look nice for your king and parading around like a peacock for attention. Marit never stopped heaping praises on her daughters as they were fitted, refitted, and tried on a seemingly endless array of dresses.

There were a finite number of tailors in the Goblin Kingdom, and Marit's finances were just north of "having more money than common sense", but barely just south of "hiring a tailor from another kingdom". So the visits from the tailor were only every couple of days, as the lady was understandably busy with the sudden influx of orders.

In a rare moment, the tailor took a quick tea break down in the kitchen. "To be honest, before His Majesty even sent out the invites, he calls all of the tailors to the castle," she said as she sipped her tea. "We were all excited because we thought that he was going to hire a new royal tailor. But instead, he told us of his plan to hold a ball. And he told us that we all had his permission to rise our prices to cover all of the stress that we'd be under in these upcoming weeks."

"I don't envy your job right now, that's for sure," Erna said as she sipped on her own tea.

"It's normally not that bad," the woman replied. "But you guys? I don't envy you at all. At the end of the day, I get to go home to my own bed. But you? You have to wake up and serve these horrible people day in and day out." She put her cup down sharply and looked between Sarah and Erna. "How do you do it?"

"It's not always easy, and I often find myself on the end of their wrath. I'm never good enough, never quick enough, never enough for any of their lofty standards," Sarah said quietly. "But having Erna around to bitch to really helps."

"Well, I'm glad that you have each other, then," she said with a faint smile. Her watch chimed, and she pulled it out to check. "Ah, thanks for the tea, but I must be off now." She drained the last of it from her cup as she stood up. "See you in three days!"

"See you," Sarah said as she walked the tailor to the door.

When she returned to the kitchen, Erna was cleaning up from their tea and starting to put the finishing touches on dinner. "It's too bad that His Majesty did that, but I can understand why. It's obvious that she's under a lot of stress, and I can only imagine that all of the other local tailors are as well. And I would imagine that those from other kingdoms are making quite the profit from this as well."

"Yeah. And don't forget the dance instructors and such," Sarah said. Tomorrow, the girls would have another dance lesson. Maybe this time, the instructor wouldn't leave the house in tears because Antonia kept stepping on his toes. Sarah's own toes began to hurt in sympathy for the man.

"Well, I say that it's too bad about the price hike, or else you would have been able to afford maybe even a slightly better dress than the one you've got," Erna said to her gently.

"Oh no. Not this again," Sarah said with a heavy sigh. "I'm not going to go to the ball, Erna. Don't try to talk me into it, don't go behind my back and make me a dress, either. We have a story about this in my world, you know. The young maid wants to go to the ball, so she makes herself a dress from scraps and bits from the dresses of the ladies she works for. But the ladies see the dress that the maid crafted, recognize the lace from the one dress, the ribbon from another, and they get angry. So they rip the maid's dress up."

"What a horrible story," Erna gasped. "Why would you have such a story in your world?"

"Well, so maybe that's the beginning of the story," Sarah admitted sheepishly. "A fairy comes and gives the girl a beautiful dress, as well as a magical carriage. And she does go to the ball, and the prince will only dance with her. And then there's some bits about a lost shoe that's really dumb, but the prince finds her again and they get married and blah-blah-blah."

"You see, Sarah! That could be you!" Erna exclaimed.

"Yes, but there's no such thing as Fairy Godmothers, Erna," Sarah said sharply. "The only fairies here are the pest kind. In the garden. The kind that we pay people to come and remove every other weekend."

"This is true," Erna agreed with a slight chuckle. "But this is also a world of magic, Sarah. A literal Fairy Godmother might not exist, sure, but don't doubt the power of magic." With a snap of her bony fingers, the dishes in the sink started to wash themselves. She smiled at Sarah.

A bell started to ring and Sarah turned to see who it was: the library. "I've unfortunately learned the hard way that there's no such thing as miracles, Erna. If you want something, then you're going to have to make it happen yourself."

* * *

The sisters had been fighting pretty much non-stop over who was going to end up becoming the queen ever since Hoggle had come by with the invitation. However, the closer the ball got, the worse their fighting became.

Much to Sarah's glee, however, Marit seemed just about at her wits end with her daughters over the petty squabbling, too. "Girls, quit your bickering! His Majesty has brothers and sisters who will surely love the sister of his bride!"

Of course, Sarah thought that there was such a slim chance of Him actually even spending more than two seconds with both Lucia and Antonia. And even if He did, she was certain that He would be just about as annoyed with them as she was.

Every eligible woman in the kingdom would be at the ball. The invitation had said that nobody would be turned away at the gate so long as they had an invitation. However, there were a lot of women in the Goblin Kingdom, and a good portion of them were humanoid.

Sarah wasn't quite certain where all of the people had come from. Her first trip to the Kingdom, and the only citizens that she'd seen were goblins. However, as she found out quickly enough when she came back to the Underworld, there was a lot more to the Goblin Kingdom than a labyrinth and flimsy little houses that bordered a dirty castle.

In fact, it hadn't even been His real castle, as Sarah had learned. Everything was a set. It was something that continued to baffle Sarah to this day.

Why all of that trouble for one bratty fifteen year old?

But the citizens of the Goblin Kingdom had just as many answers about their eccentric and remote leader as Sarah herself did. He kept himself locked up in His castle (a real one), and only ever communicated with his citizens through messenger. In fact, the closest that Sarah had been to Him since her return was news of Him from Hoggle.

Since Hoggle was one of His preferred messengers, he was probably the one who had the most information about the king. However, Hoggle was every bit as lovable as he had been when Sarah first met him, nearly a decade earlier. People enjoyed his company about as much as they enjoyed the odor of his kingdom. And all of that seemed perfectly fine by Hoggle, who enjoyed and preferred solitude.

"No, my wedding colors will be pink and purple! And once I'm queen, I'll be certain to get rid of that ugly banner! I'll have somebody come up with something much cuter!" Antonia exclaimed over luncheon.

"Cuter? Sister, have you forgotten that you will be the Goblin Queen?" Lucia snapped at her. "Or, actually, no you won't! Because once he takes one look at me, it'll be love at first sight! He'll probably propose to me before the end of the night!"

"Yeah, well, I'll bet that he'll look at me and immediately decide that I'm to be his queen!" Antonia snapped back. "He'll send everybody home, and we'll start planning our wedding at once!"

"Antonia, don't be absurd," Marit snarled at her daughter. "There's no way that His Majesty would invite everybody over only to send them home not five minutes after they've arrived." She appeared at her wits end with her daughters, which was how Sarah felt most of the time. "If both of you are finished with your meals, then I expect you to finish the work that I gave you!"

"Come on, mumsie!" Lucia begged her mother. "It's not real work; it's just because you're angry at our constant bickering!"

"Ah-hah! She finally figures it out!" Marit roared. "I have had it up to here with the two of you! Get the hell out of my sight before I take you out back and switch your backsides!"

Both girls didn't need to be told twice. They scurried out from the room as fast as they could run in their heavy dresses. A minute later, Sarah heard the door to the library bang open.

Marit dabbed at her mouth delicately with her napkin before she put it on her plate and stood. "They have ruined my appetite. You may clear now, Sally." Sarah sunk into a low curtsy as Marit left the room, and immediately started to work on clearing the table.

She ran down to the kitchen as fast as she could, eager to tell Erna all about what had just happened.

"Ooh, is it good to hear that even Lady Marit has her limits with them as well!" Erna said with a chuckle. "Although, it's not like either of us believed for a second that she would actually hurt her daughters. Not when it's a week before the ball. They're her meal ticket to a better life, after all."

"Yeah. It's too bad," Sarah agreed with a wistful sigh.

* * *

That night, Sarah dreamt of her family. It wasn't all that unusual for her dream of them, and she did so frequently. However, her dreams were usually memories of Before. Pleasant things, like Toby's first trip to the county fair or when Sarah graduated from high school. And every so often, she had unpleasant dreams as well. When her mother walked out on her and her father. When her father got remarried.

But this dream wasn't a memory. Toby, now in high school, struggling with his homework. He'd been ten when Sarah had left, and that was the age that she preferred to remember him as. Not a boy on the cusp of manhood, his voice starting to crack, and some whiskers on his cheeks.

He sat at the kitchen table, struggling with some math homework. Calculus, by the look of it. Sarah wished that she was there, even though she had been just about as horrible at math as Toby clearly was.

The phone on the wall rang, seemingly distant in Sarah's dream. Toby looked up sharply as Irene came in to answer it from the laundry room. "No, I'm sorry, I'm not interested," she said simply after listening for a moment. She hung the phone back on the cradle.

Toby heaved a huge sigh. "Is it so wrong of me that I'm so eager whenever the phone rings?" he asked his mother.

"What do you mean?" Irene asked with a slight frown.

"It's just… Sarah…" Toby struggled to find the right words. "The police gave up on her case. They never found a body. They never found anything. And then that one girl who was found murdered, and the public moved on from Sarah."

"Sweetie," Irene said gently. She crossed over from the wall to the table and sat down in the seat next to Toby. She grabbed his hand and held it gently. "Your sister was a very troubled woman. She had a lot of personal demons, and she kept it from all of us. You were too young to understand, but now that you're getting older, maybe it's time for you to know the truth. Your sister was sick. Not the kind of sick that you can cure with some chicken noodle soup. And not even the kind of sick like on Doogie Howser. It's the kind of sick that's invisible, that can't be accurately diagnosed."

"Sarah wasn't crazy, mom," Toby said sharply. He pulled his hand out from under hers. "You always told her that she needed to stop imagining things. But I saw them, too. I still see them."

"Tobias!" Irene said to him sharply. "You told the doctor that you weren't seeing those things anymore!"

"I lied, okay! Nobody believed me except for Sarah! And if two people see the exact same hallucination, then it's not a hallucination then, isn't it?! She was the only one who cared about me! You and dad and the police didn't care about if you found Sarah, did you?"

"Toby, how could you say that? We loved Sarah very much, but she was a very troubled girl! But sometimes, people just leave and they don't want to be found. She could be anywhere, Toby. She could have lived her life, she could have died. We don't know that."

"And now you understand why I get my hopes up whenever the phone rings or whenever somebody comes to the door! That it's the police, saying that they've found her, after all this time! Or that it's some message from Sarah to remind us that she's still alive and out in the world somewhere. Or better yet: Sarah herself!"

"Toby…" Irene said gently. "Your sister was sick."

"Yeah, and you really dropped the ball with her, didn't you?" Toby snapped at her. "I refuse to let you drag me into doctor's offices because there's nothing wrong with me!" He stormed out from the room.

"Toby!" Irene called out after him. But a moment later, the front door slammed, and Irene winced.

* * *

The dream shifted, taking Sarah to the inside of Irene's and Robert's bedroom. It was clearly hours later, as it was now night, and Irene and Robert were getting ready for bed. "I'm worried about Tony," Irene started as she rubbed moisturizer onto her face. "He told me today that he always gets anxious whenever the phone or doorbell rings, thinking that it might be some news of Sarah."

Roberts eyes went wide. He spat toothpaste into the sink. "Did he now? I know that he'd taken Sarah's… disappearance really hard, but I'd though…" He trailed off, heaved a sigh, and shook his head slightly. "No. I honestly can't say that I'm surprised that he wouldn't have gotten over her disappearance, either. I haven't."

"Yes, but you're her father. You were there for her during literally every step of her life," Irene told her gently. "Toby was ten when she left."

"But none of that stopped them from being exceptionally close before she did leave," Robert said, his voice low.

"He also says that he's never really stopped seeing those… things," Irene hissed at him.

Robert heaved a sigh. "What do you want me to do, Irene?" he finally asked her. "Do you want me to make another appointment for another doctor that he'll do nothing but lie to? Is that what you want?"

"I don't want my son to end up like Sarah!" Irene spat out. But a second later, her eyes grew wide when she realized what she'd said.

"He's my son, too, you know," Robert said coolly, his face hard. "And you know what? Maybe you're right!"

"Robert…" Irene started, but Robert cut her off.

"No no!" he hissed. "Maybe you're right! Maybe insanity does run in the Williams family! Maybe Sarah is sick because of me! Maybe Toby is, too!"

The two of them stared at one another for a long moment before Robert's face softened. "Look, I don't want to fight about this. But what do you want me to do? You heard from Toby himself that he'd lied to the doctor. Who's to say that he wouldn't lie to another one? Of course I'm worried about Toby, but he's also a teenage boy. Being difficult and rebelling against his parents is practically in his DNA at this point. Trust me: I raised Sarah, after all. But I also don't think that he's going to end up like Sarah and just vanish without a trace. He was old enough to understand what was happening when she disappeared. He saw what it did to us, and I doubt that he'd want to put us through the strain of losing a second child as well."

"Maybe you're right," Irene said gently. Robert opened his arms and Irene stepped into his embrace. They held each other for a long moment. "But I'm still going to make an appointment with a doctor first thing in the morning."

* * *

Sarah awoke with tears on her eyes and cheeks. She reached up and brushed them away, angry at herself for letting herself show emotion, even if it was in her sleep.

She sat up and rested her elbow on the windowsill. It was maybe an hour or so before dawn, and there was still time for her to catch even just a little bit more sleep. However, after the dream she'd had, she didn't think that she'd be able to get back to sleep anytime soon.

She hadn't exactly stopped think once about her family since After.

After her first adventure in the Underworld, she'd thought that she'd be able to move on with her life. And she had. She'd gone to school, she hung out with her friends, she spent every other weekend with her mother… when Linda was in town. She got closer to Toby, and vowed to be the kind of big sister that would make anybody jealous.

But then the dreams started. And at first, they were just memories of her time in the labyrinth. But then, they started to get more and more real. Her running through the labyrinth again, only in search of something that, upon waking, Sarah could never remember.

And then, it felt like He was sending goblins to torment her during her waking hours, too. Things would go missing, only to turn up hours later in the strangest place. Her math homework would turn up two days later stuffed into the milk carton. Her hairbrush would end up in Toby's playpen.

Like the dreams, it started off as little and then got progressively worse and worse as time passed. It got so bad that Sarah began to fear leaving the house. Nobody wanted to be friends with her anymore. She was kicked out of her college classes for not attending them and was placed on academic probation until she got her grades up.

However, during all of this, Irene and Robert did nothing. They never listened to Sarah's fears, blamed the misplaced items on Sarah being a ditz, and never noticed anything else out of place.

Finally, Sarah contacted her friends and asked if they could take her to the Underworld. Things would surely be better if she was actually in His kingdom… right? If she could only just talk to him, then things would get better. She'd be able to put everything to rest, and she'd be able to move on with her life.

If only she had known what lay ahead of her…


	3. Chapter 3

Lucia's and Antonia's skirts were so big that they could barely fit through the carriage door. It was all Ivar could do to help them inside. Marit's dress was much smaller, probably because she was only attending as Lucia's and Antonia's mother, and not somebody who was in the pool of potential bride candidates.

Once Marit was in, Ivar shut the door and hopped up onto the top to drive off. He tipped his hat at Sarah as the carriage pulled away. For the first time since Hoggle had given her the invitation, Sarah wished that she was able to attend the ball. She could have grabbed onto the back and ridden up there; the family would be none the wiser.

But she'd already resigned herself to not attending. She had grand plans of a quiet dinner with Erna and then early to bed. Marit hadn't known when they would be back, so she'd given Sarah the night off. If they couldn't undress themselves… well, then. They had more than enough money to afford to cut themselves out of their fancy dresses.

"I made a nice chicken dinner for us tonight, Sarah," Erna said when Sarah came into the kitchen. "I even decided to use the good china, just once. After all, if they're going to treat themselves, why can't we? The dishes will be washed and put away before they even come back." She winked at Sarah and smiled.

"Thanks, Erna," Sarah said as she sat down at the table.

"Why so down in the mouth? You aren't having regrets about not going, are you?"

"Maybe a little," Sarah admitted. "But it's too late now. No dress, no way of getting there."

"Well…" Erna put a plate with a piece of cake on it in front of Sarah. "Dessert first, that'll cheer you up!"

"Thanks," Sarah said as she picked up a fork. She took a bite, and then moaned loudly. "Erna, you've really outdone yourself this time!"

"I thought that you could use some cheering up!" Erna said as she poured Sarah a cup of tea and put it in front of her, too. "Now, eat your cake or else you won't get any broccoli!"

Sarah giggled over that, and quickly ate another bite. After a few minutes, the cake was gone. "Thanks, Erna. I feel a lot better now."

"Nothing soothes the heart quite like some cake. At least, that's what my mother always told me, and her mother told her! Ooh, Sarah! Do you want to know what else you could do while the ladies are gone? Go put on your goblin slippers! You've hardly worn them ever since Hoggle gave them to you! And it would be a waste for them to sit around and collect dust up in the attics."

"Fine, but only because that cake was so delicious," Sarah said as she stood. She walked up the steps to her room, but then coughed as a huge cloud of glitter engulfed her as soon as she opened the door. "What the…?"

She looked down at herself, disgusted to find that every inch of her was now covered with miniature sparkles. "Where did this come from?" It also felt like she'd inhaled a lot of glitter as well.

Sarah stepped further into her room, waving off stray bits of glitter that continued to float in the air. Her eyes drifted over the room looking for anything unusual, and she saw a beautiful navy dress that rested on her bed. It was so comically out of place with the room that the dress stood out even more. The dress was a perfect match for the goblin slippers, with silver threads woven into the dress to resemble stars. It was very streamlined and simple, yet elegant at the same time.

She saw a matching mask lying on the pillow, as well as a note propped up against the mask. Sarah stepped closer and saw that the note had her name on it, in a handwriting that she didn't recognize. She unfolded the paper.

I hope that this dress is to your liking. I look forward to seeing you at the ball tonight.

And that was it. No signature, nothing on the back. Just her name on one half, and those two sentences.

"Well…" Sarah said as she looked down at the dress. "Since somebody clearly went to a lot of trouble to get this dress for me, it seems like it would be a waste to not at least try it on…" She pulled the mattress out of the way and pulled the box with her goblin slippers out from under the floor, and then she pulled the dress on.

It was a perfect fit. Not like Sarah was overly surprised about that.

As she went to grab the mask, another note fluttered out from it.

Oh, and I forgot to mention in my first letter: the dress is magic and will vanish after the final stroke of midnight. However, that should give you more than enough time at the ball.

How very cliched, Sarah though as she stuffed both notes into the box that the slippers had come from. But, this was probably for the best, as there was no way that she'd be able to hide this dress from Marit. Shoes were one thing, but a ball gown?

With the mask in hand, Sarah made her way back down to the kitchen. Then, she shyly stepped into the kitchen. "What do you think?" Sarah asked Erna.

"Oh, Sarah!" Erna gasped. Her eyes went wide behind her thick glasses. "You look like a princess! No… You look like a queen. But… There is one thing missing…"

"What's that?" Sarah asked rather self consciously.

"Come sit down," Erna said. Sarah did as Erna asked, and then felt the slight tingle of magic creeping along her scalp. Erna used her magic to pull Sarah's hair back into a French braid. "There. Now you're ready."

"Thank you, Erna."

"And would you look at that? Ivar just returned," Erna exclaimed cheerfully.

"What?" Sarah gasped as she stood up. She looked out the window as Ivar drove the carriage around towards the back door. Sarah rounded on Erna. "You planned this!"

"I had some help," Erna agreed. "But you wanted this, didn't you? Your chance to win over the prince?"

"I don't want to win over the prince, I want-"

"Is she ready?" Ivar asked as he strode in from the back. He stopped in his tracks when he got a look at Sarah. "Wow. Sarah, you look so beautiful."

"Thank you," Sarah said. "But is this really okay? What if Lady Marit wants to leave early?"

"I doubt that," Ivar said with a roll of his eyes. "And it's only just to bring you up to the castle. I hope that you're okay with walking back on your own."

"I am," Sarah agreed. She was beyond used to hard work at this point, and the walk back would probably do her a lot of good.

"Then if you're ready?" Ivar said as he gestured towards the door. Sarah walked out, with Ivar and Erna following after her.

"Goodbye, Sarah. Have fun," Erna said quietly. For the first time in her life, Ivar helped Sarah up into the carriage, and then shut the door.

And then they were off, driving through the back gates and quickly got onto the main street.

After a few miles, they started to meet up with several other carriages, all who were also headed for the ball.

"It's gotten even busier than when I was just up here with the ladies," Ivar said to Sarah.

"Oh no, I'm so nervous," Sarah said as she clenched the invitation in her hands.

"Don't be. Just have some fun tonight, okay? You work harder than any of these fussy ladies. Who cares what they think? Eat your fill of hors d'oeuvres, dance a little, and then come home."

Sarah laughed a little. "Yes, you're right. I'm really over-thinking this. Thanks, Ivar."

"Anytime."

Sarah pulled her mask on as the carriage pulled up by the front steps of the castle. Footmen came to open the door and help Sarah out. As she stepped out, she couldn't help but gawk at the castle. It was like from a fairytale, sparkling and beautiful. It was way more than the castle that He had chased her through when she was fifteen.

Banners bearing the Goblin Kingdom insignia flew from the roof, while small lights lined every window. Guards checked invitations at the door, and Sarah felt a ball of nervousness in her stomach at the sight of them.

As she walked up the steps, she tried to smooth out the invitation, least the guards think that she was some sort of commoner. Not like she wasn't one, but she didn't want them to think so. However, they didn't seem to care much about how crumpled that the invitation had become, and let her in without any problem.

Sarah allowed herself to be swept along by the crowds, and went from the front entrance to the grand ballroom. There were way more people than Sarah would have imagined, and not just women. There were men there as well, although it made sense that if you throw a ball, there should be dancing. And it's difficult for a proper lady to dance without a dance partner.

From the balcony above the dance floor, the women looked like blooming flowers with their massive skirts as they were twirled around on the dance floor. There were only a handful of couples on the floor, however. Most of the guests were milling around the edges of the room, quietly chatting with one another and holding champaign flutes.

As Sarah looked around the room, she realized that whoever had given her the dress must have been very much aware of Aboveworld fashions. The dresses all of the women wore were huge things: puffy sleeves, ribbons and lace, and more petticoats than seemed necessary. Sarah's own dress was more… modern. Stream-lined, straight, and simple.

She was also the only one wearing dark colors. Sarah hadn't paid much attention to the dress colors of Lucia, Antonia, and Marit, but their baby pink, blue, and yellow dresses fit right in with all of the other pastel dresses.

Sarah began to panic a little, worried that she would stand out too much. She could at least reassure herself that a lot of other people were also wearing masks, so she wasn't out of place with that.

"I came here for a reason, and I'm going to at least have fun if I can't do that," Sarah whispered to herself. She made her way down the stairs to the dance floor, and went straight for the food table.

"I must say, that is a very bold fashion statement that you're choosing to make," somebody said next to Sarah. She looked up at a tall and unearthly beautiful woman in a white gown.

"If you say so," Sarah said with a shrug as she grabbed a shrimp cocktail.

"Are you from here? In the Goblin Kingdom, I mean," the woman asked.

"I've been living here for some time now, so I suppose that I am," Sarah said absently.

"It's only that I've never seen you around before."

"Well, I've never seen you before, so I guess that that makes us even," Sarah said sharply. She then turned and walked away, having no desire to make idle chit-chat with people who were being a little rude to her. She didn't have a choice working for Lady Marit, but she did here. She could say as many rude things as she wanted, and she could walk away whenever she pleased.

"Ugh, this is the worst," a girl around Lucia's age was saying to her friend. "We spent all of this time, energy, and money getting ourselves ready for the ball. And what does the king do?" She gestured up towards the balconies.

Sarah looked up to where she was motioning and had to stifle a gasp when she saw Him.

Of course, this was His home. This was His ball. She'd been expecting to see Him here.

But anticipating something and actually facing reality were two completely different things.

Jareth the Goblin King.

He sat by himself on a closed-off balcony that overlooked the dance floor. However, he seemed like he had better things to be doing with his time, and that he'd rather be doing literally anything else.

Sarah didn't care about the whiny girls complaining about how much money that they'd spent on their dresses, all of the time that they'd spent practicing their waltzes and foxtrots… She was a little angry that Jareth would invite all of the women of his kingdom to a ball, and then act like he was bored with the entire thing.

As Sarah watched, Jareth vanished the crystal ball that he'd been playing with and looked out over the hall. It seemed that he was looking straight at her, and he grinned impishly. He then stood, and vanished through the curtain behind where he sat.

"Oh, did you see that? He totally looked straight at me!" the girl giggled.

"No, he looked at me!" her friend snapped at her.

Sarah then realized that there were a lot of other women around where Sarah stood. Jareth could have been looking at any one of them. He wouldn't have been looking at her, despite how much she stood out.

…Right?

A second later, an odd hush fell over the ball room. The crowd on the other side of the room parted as Jareth came out. All eyes were on him. The goblin chamber orchestra stopped playing, which in turn made the few couples on the dance floor stop as well.

Everybody bowed or sunk into a curtsy as Jareth passed them, but nobody said anything other than a simple "Your majesty."

"Oh gosh, he's coming this way!" another girl next to Sarah whispered. "What do I do? He's looking right at me!"

"Obviously you agree to anything that he asks you to do, no matter what!" somebody else replied. Sarah glanced over her shoulder and realized that she was standing next to Marit, Lucia, and Antonia. They, of course, did not recognize Sarah in her dress with her hair done up and a mask in place.

Sarah took a tiny step backwards, followed by another one. Now that she was actually here, and it looked like Jareth was walking over to her, all of her courage suddenly fled.

"Your majesty, might I introduce-" Marit started, but Jareth silenced her with a simple gesture. He stepped closer to Sarah until he was right in front of her.

And then he held out his hand.

To her.

Sarah's pulse quickened, and she didn't know what to do. She couldn't take her eyes off from him. He was every bit as perfect as she remembered him being, with just a touch of insanity thrown in for good measure.

"Might I have this dance?" he asked her gently after a moment and Sarah did nothing but stare at him.

Sarah continued to stare.

"Your majesty, the girl is but a-" Marit started.

This time, Jareth did look at her. He sent her a scathing glare that had Marit retreating in a heartbeat. "If you insist on interrupting me, I will send you to the bog to think about your actions. Do not presume to speak to me again."

He then turned back to Sarah and offered his hand again. Sarah steeled her nerves and shyly accepted his hand. The leather of his glove was soft, yet not worn. It made Sarah embarrassed of her own work-hardened hands, and she wished that whoever had given her the dress and mask had also given her gloves as well.

Jareth led her out to the middle of the dance floor. The second that he turned to face her, the orchestra started to play a slow waltz.

"I don't know how to dance," Sarah stammered out, a little too late.

"It's fine, for I will lead," Jareth said quietly. He put his arm around her waist, and started to lead her around the dance floor. All of the other couples had moved away, giving them the entire floor. Sarah flushed heavily at all of the attention, and she had to focus on her feet to make sure that she didn't stumble, or worse, step on Jareth's toes.

"You look beautiful," he whispered after a moment. "Like the night sky."

"T-thank you," Sarah said quietly.

Jareth smirked at her. "If I'm not mistaken, then your dress is an Aboveworld fashion. Am I correct?"

"Y-yes!" Sarah squeaked out.

Jareth offered her a more sincere smile. "There is no need to be so nervous. We're just having a dance."

"I'm sorry, but it's a little hard not to be nervous. You are, after all…" A million things danced on the tip of Sarah's tongue. She couldn't bring herself to say any one of them.

"The Goblin King?" he finished for her. She looked up into his eyes and saw them dancing with mirth. "Tonight, you can call me Jareth."

"Doesn't that seem a bit… forward?"

Jareth laughed. "Maybe I like forward. How do you know?"

"If you liked forward women, then you would have accepted Lady… that Lady's offer to introduce you to her daughters."

"Fat cows, I'm sure," Jareth said with a roll of his eyes. "Well, maybe forward is the wrong word that I'm looking for. Familiar perhaps? No no, that's not it, either. That speaks of a certain… unpleasant connotation."

The song ended and immediately launched into another one. Jareth picked up the pace, but made no motions of letting Sarah go, or even switching partners. Nobody else joined them on the dance floor, either.

They danced for hours, easily talking. Sarah found that Jareth was very easy to talk to, so long as she didn't talk about her family, or anything Aboveworld. Also, talking about the fact that she was a maid was completely out.

Jareth asked her question after question about herself, ranging from everything from favorite sandwich to her opinion on a latest bill in the Goblin court. She tried to return his questions in kind, but often found herself a little tongue-tied or her mind blank when trying to think of equally important questions to ask him. He seemed to sense her unease, though, and often offered up tidbits of info that were on par with the information that she'd just provided him.

"It's gotten quite stuffy in here, wouldn't you agree?" Jareth finally asked her in the middle of a song.

"Um, yeah," Sarah agreed quietly. Despite the fact that she'd been dancing for hours, her feet didn't hurt at all. She was a little thirsty, and now that Jareth brought it up, she was a little hot.

Jareth stopped dancing and instead pulled her out onto a balcony. Nobody so much as looked at them as they passed, nor did anybody turn to stare at them out the window. Some product of his magic, Sarah guessed. Not like she minded— being the center of attention was very nerve-wracking.

He turned to her with a gentle smile. "Milady," he started. He brought her hand up to his lips and gently kissed the top of her knuckles. "Won't you tell me your name?"

"I-" Sarah started. She was saved from having to come up with some lie or envision by the sound of a clock chiming the hour. She looked across the courtyard, to the massive clock set into the side of the castle.

Midnight.

"Oh shit!" Sarah whispered under her breath. She pulled away and started for the steps.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Jareth called out to her as he chased after her.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go!" Sarah replied over her shoulder.

Her years of running up and down the steps at Lady's Marit's beck and call had prepared her for this moment. She gathered as much of the skirt of the dress into her hands as she could so that she wouldn't trip, and just kept running. She reached the ground, and headed for a tunnel that would take her back to the front of the castle. There, she was met with more steps, but that did little to slow her down.

However, just as she'd reached the third from last step, the slipper on her right foot came loose and fell off. It was odd, since not once the entire night had the slippers felt lose at all. And it was only just the right one that was like that.

Sarah turned to go back and fetch it, but saw Jareth and a whole team of guards closing in on her.

"Shit shit shit," Sarah swore under her breath. She chose to not reveal herself, and left the shoe behind.

After all, she wouldn't be able to wear it anyway. It would only just collect dust under the floor in her attic room.

She picked up the pace as she heard the eleventh strike of the clock, and managed to make it to the first line of houses just by the castle as her dress vanished. Sarah was left in her daily dress, only wearing one shoe.

* * *

As the guards reached the step where the lone slipper lay, Jareth held his hand out and stopped them. "Your majesty? We would easily catch her!" one of them said with some confusion.

"No, let her go," Jareth said. He bent over and retrieved the slipper from the step, and turned it over and over in his hand, like he did his crystal balls. "The story isn't over yet." He smirked.

* * *

Sarah returned home just as the sun was starting to come up. She was grateful that Marit and the girls had had a long night, because she was in no mood to deal with them. At all. In fact, she would probably put in her notice as soon as Marit awoke for the day.

She would go to Hoggle and ask him to take her home. She was done here. She couldn't ask Jareth anything. She was such a coward.

Erna was stoking the fire when Sarah came in. "Sarah, you're home! How was-" She broke off, her eyes wide, when she took in Sarah's haggard state. "What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Sarah said. She brushed past the elderly goblin and slunk up the stairs to go to her attic room.

Once in there, Sarah quickly shoved her mattress out of the way and yanked the loose floorboard up. She didn't care about anything but getting the box out. The two notes that had accompanied the dress were still in there.

Tears started to drip down Sarah's cheeks as she stared down into the nearly empty box. Sarah stood and hurled the box at the wall with all her strength. She then collapsed onto the askew mattress and started to sob into her pillow.

"I'm such a fool," she moaned.


	4. Chapter 4

Somebody pounding on the door to Sarah's room awoke her. She sat up, and then started to panic, because the sun was high in the sky.

"Just a minute!" Sarah called out as she picked up the slightly tattered box and stuffed both notes and the remaining goblin slipper inside.

"Ah, it's just me, Sarah," Erna said from the other side of the door. "Not like they'd actually bother to dirty their hands up here." Either way, Sarah quickly shoved the box back into the hole and covered it up again with the mattress. She then smoothed out her hair and opened the door.

"It's so late; I'm certain that the Lady must be furious at me," Sarah said as she hurried down the stairs.

"I served them breakfast, so everything is alright on that front for now," Erna said. "They're a little… testy, and seemed content to laze around in bed. But it won't be long before they'll ask to get dressed, so you'd better…" Erna's words became more and more distant as Sarah hurried downstairs to the kitchen. When she walked through the doorway, Erna's words were cut off completely.

A bell ran on the board, and Sarah immediately turned around to go see what Antonia wanted.

"Sasha, what on earth have you been doing?" Antonia snapped at Sarah as soon as she came into the room. "I've been ringing and ringing for you! That dreadful goblin lady served me breakfast; I'm surprised that it didn't curdle everything on the tray and make the flowers wilt!"

"Yes, milady, sorry milady," Sarah said absently as she bit back several snide remarks. It would appear as though her will to do anything like leave had fled as well. She couldn't even do that one thing, either. "What would you like to wear for the day?"

"How about something black? I'm in a foul mood following the ball last night," Antonia pouted from her bed.

"Of course, milady," Sarah said robotically as she turned to the closet. She grabbed the first black dress that she saw and displayed it for Antonia's approval. For one, Antonia didn't immediately poo-poo the dress, and remained silent as Sarah dressed her for the day.

"It was the worst thing, Sarina," Antonia finally said as she sat down heavily at her vanity and started to play with her golden hair. "For the first couple of hours, his majesty did nothing but sit above us on a balcony. He would accept no visitors up there, not even to greet his guests. And when he did come down, all he did was spend the entire evening dancing with one girl who clearly had no fashion sense!"

"I see," Sarah said as she brushed the tangles out from Antonia's hair. "That must have been horrible for you."

"And do you even want to know what the worst part was, Sabrina?" Antonia gasped out.

"What's that?" Sarah said flatly. She honestly didn't care what the worst part of the night was for Antonia. She'd probably broken a nail or something stupid.

"When the king came down, he walked close to where we were standing! Mumsie tried to talk to him, to introduce him to us. However, he turned to her and with the coldest eyes told her that if she continued to speak, that he would send her to the bog! Isn't that just horrid, Sally?" Antonia did not allow Sarah to voice her opinion on the matter, which was probably for the best. "On the way home, mumsie said to us that she's thinking about moving. To anywhere but where ever we're under the rule of such a dreadful, self-centered ruler! Lucia was upset when she heard that, but I'm eager to get away from here! All of those dreadful goblins, all over the place! Ugh!"

Sarah finished pinning Antonia's hair up, and stepped away from her.

"If that's everything, milady, I should go and attend to Lady Lucia and Lady Marit."

"Yes, yes. Whatever. Tell Lucia and mumsie that I'll be in the library," Antonia said as she stood up.

* * *

The rest of the morning was quiet. It was clear to Sarah that Marit was steamed over what had happened, however, she did not mention moving to Sarah. Unlike her youngest daughter, Marit was not open about such matters with a maid. Lucia, however, seemed upset and withdrawn. She was quiet, and retreated to the study as soon as she'd been dressed.

Just when Sarah was about to announce that luncheon was served, the front doorbell rang, so she went to answer it. It was Lady Diana, who was their closest neighbor and one of Lady Marit's friends. "Get out of my way, servant! This is important business!" Diana snapped at Sarah as she barged in. She then burst into the library, where Antonia and Marit were engrossed in their hobbies.

"Lady Diana, it's so good to see you," Marit said with confusion when Diana came in.

"His Majesty is traveling the kingdom in search of the girl from last night!" Diana exclaimed.

"What?" Marit and Antonia asked in unison with equal looks of confusion on their faces.

"It's getting around the town! Lady Brigit told me, who heard it from Lady Bjork, who in turn heard it from Lady Margareta! Apparently, the mystery girl ran off in a big hurry last night, and lost her slipper in the process! The king is going around all of the houses in search of whomever the slipper belongs to!"

"This is our chance! Sari, go fetch Lucia and bring her to me!" Marit snapped at Sarah.

As Sarah walked from the library to the study, her mind raced and her heart pounded. Jareth was the king, and surely he knew about how goblin slippers would only fit one person and only one person. However, would Marit know that?

Before Sarah could decide what to do about Jareth, she had already arrived at the study. She walked in, and saw Lucia, seemingly studying something at the desk.

"Yes? Is luncheon served?" Lucia asked, annoyed. "Who was at the door, earlier, too?"

"It was Lady Diana, milady," Sarah replied quietly. "She came with some news. Your mother has requested that you join her immediately in the library."

"Ugh, what a pain," Lucia said with irritation. "I'm in the middle of something right now, can't you see?" Sarah shrugged and left the room. She returned to the library via the servant's halls, and listened outside the door.

"It's imperative that either Lucia or Antonia fit that slipper! I don't care what it takes; I will make sure that either of them ends up on the throne!" Marit was saying to Diana quietly.

Sarah's mind raced as she heard of that. In the original tale of Cinderella, the wicked stepmother sliced off the toes of one of her daughters, and the heel of another to try and get the slipper to fit. It was why Sarah didn't press Lucia to join her mother— she had no desire to see either of the girls harmed like that. She might not like them much, but nobody deserved to be hurt like that. And at the hands of their own mother.

However, if Jareth was making his way around the kingdom in search of her, then he'd eventually stop at Marit's house. There was little that Sarah could do if Marit decided to harm her daughters at that point.

But she also didn't want to see him.

It would be easy to slink off now, while Marit and her daughters were distracted by this news. Leave the fate of Lucia's and Antonia's feet up to, well, fate.

But before Sarah could make up her mind either way, Erna appeared behind her. "Somebody else at the front door," she whispered.

"No," Sarah said quietly. "No. I can't answer it. I can't! It's Him!"

"Who?" Erna asked with a baffled look.

"No, I can't," Sarah begged her.

"Fine. But you owe me a huge explanation, girly! About everything!" Erna said as she slipped away to answer the door.

A minute later, Erna opened the main door to the library. "His royal majesty, Jareth the Goblin King," Erna announced timidly.

"Y-your majesty!" Marit gasped as the three of them surged to their feet. They all sunk into curtsy's.

Jareth swept into the room, leaving his guards by the door. His eyes swept around the room, and for a moment, Sarah was certain that his eyes stopped on the half-hidden servant's door. But then he looked away, and Sarah was certain that she'd imagined it.

"It is such an honor to-" Marit started, but Jareth cut her off with his hand. "Er… Might I present to you-"

"You are the erroneous woman from last night, who spoke out of turn," Jareth said as he continued to look around the room. "I see that you have still not learned your lesson. Guards!" He snapped his fingers, and two guards swarmed into the room and grabbed a hold of Marit's arms.

"Your majesty, what might I ask is the meaning of this?!" Diana spoke out. Jareth only offered her a cruel smile.

"I told her last night that if she continued to interrupt me, then I would have her bogged," Jareth said. He then turned his cruel smile onto Marit. "If you tell me where the girl is, then I will spare you and your children the shame of such a punishment. What will it be?"

"This is my younger daughter, Antonia," Marit said, her voice quiet. "And I don't know where my other daughter is; I sent a servant to fetch her, but she has not returned."

Jareth grimaced, and motioned towards the doorway. "Take her over there, where she'll be out of the way. I want her to witness this." As the guards moved Marit to the other side of the room, Sarah realized that Lucia had come out; likely drawn by the arrival of the king, or maybe Erna had told her that he was here. Lucia stood behind the guards, her face completely ashen as she watched everything unfolding.

A moment later, Jareth started to walk over to the servant's door. Sarah drew back, ready to flee, but then Jareth did something unexpected. "I know you're there, Sarah. Please come out."

Startled, Sarah stepped back further until she ran into the wall. "Please, Sarah. If you flee, I will have to chase you. Only this time, I will not hold back," Jareth said, his voice harsh.

Sarah then grew angry. Not at Jareth, but at herself. She'd been running all this time. And she was so tired of it. She didn't want to run anymore. She wanted answers from Jareth.

She took a deep breath and opened the door. She barely noted the surprised looks on everybody's faces— on Marit's, Diana's, Lucia's, and Antonia's faces because she actually obeyed, and at the guard's with the fact that she was a maid— before Jareth was standing in front of her.

"H-how?" she asked quietly. "How did you know I was here?"

"I've known this entire time," he said simply. At Sarah's confused look, he went on. "I told Hoggle to bring you back here whenever you asked him. I found other employment for the house's previous maid, and told Hoggle to get you an interview with the family. I…" Here, he paused, and finally looked away from her. "I did not mean to leave you here for so long though, Sarah. A few months at most. But, there was a conflict brewing in the northern-most part of the kingdom. I rode away to deal with it, only to have it turn into a full-fledged war that swept me up into the neighboring kingdoms. I only just returned the other month to find that you remained here. Which was never my intent. So I immediately set in motion my original plan. The ball, the slippers, everything."

"I… I still don't understand. Why did you do all of this for me?" Sarah whispered as she drew back from him.

"Haven't I always given you everything that you've always asked for?" Jareth said, his face sad. "You asked me to take away Toby, and I did. You wished for adventure, and I gave you one. You also dreamed of being swept off of your feet in a fairytale romance."

"J-jareth…" Sarah stammered out, her eyes wide. "I was a child! I don't want any of that now! I just wanted to be left alone! For years, your goblins never ceased to torment me! My dreams were stricken with endless labyrinths, needing to find something but never being able to! My family thought that I was going insane! I thought that I was going insane! I came here to beg of you to stop tormenting me, only to find out that you receive no visitors, hear no petitions! However, after I came here, I realized that for the first time in years, I was not being plagued by goblins set on making my life a living hell! My dreams were sweet and peaceful! And you say that you did this all for me?!"

She reached out and slapped him as hard as she could. The guards immediately stepped forward, but Jareth waved them back as he nursed his injured cheek.

"I must say that I deserve that a thousand times over," he said sadly. "There is nothing that I could ever do to make up for the things that I've put you through, both knowingly and unknowingly. Asking my goblins to move your things, to irritate you enough to the point where you'd beg Hoggle to come back here so that you could beg me to stop. Having to leave for a war for several years, leaving you here, under the employment of a woman that I should have bogged when she herself was a bratty child."

Jareth took a step closer to Sarah, and she took a step back until she ran into the door. Then, much to everybody's surprise, Jareth sunk down onto his knees. "But please, Sarah. I only did all of this so that I could beg you to forgive me for what I did to you all those years ago. I was being truthful in what I said to you, and my feelings for you have only grown in the years since. But now… Now, the only thing that I will ask of you is that you love me."

"I…" Sarah started. She looked away from Jareth's intense gaze and she looked over at everybody. There were all clearly confused beyond belief over the events that were unfolding before them. She looked back to Jareth. "I don't love you."

"I… I see," Jareth said quietly.

"And it is because you've done such horrible things to me. You put me under the employment of… This for example." Sarah waved her hand at Marit. "But you are right: I did ask for all of those things. I asked that you'd take Toby away, I wished for adventure. And yes, there was a time when I dreamed of being the princess in some story. But then I actually became part of a story, and realized that those stories are shitty and horrible. That dream died a long time ago, I'm afraid. I grew up. I… I also don't love you because I don't know you. The part of me that wished that you'd come sweep me off my feet idealized and romanticized you. And I think that I realized that for the first time last night."

Jareth mulled over Sarah's words for a long time. "I see," he finally said. He snapped his fingers, and Sarah's worn work shoes were replaced with the goblin slippers Hoggle had given her. Both of them. "I… I think that maybe I was doing the same thing as well. You were this feisty, beautiful young woman. The only woman who's ever refused me in my life. And I wanted you, and your refusal only just made me want you more. And I know that there aren't enough words in any language that ever existed or will exist in the future, to express how sorry I am that I manipulated you like that. No actions will ever be able to properly convey this to you. But I still love you. Instead of asking for your hand in marriage, I simply ask that you promise to give me a chance to prove all of this to you."

Sarah considered his words, and weighed everything in her mind. She just wanted to go home, to try and return to her life. Her Before.

But her time here had changed her. She knew that even if she were to go back, that things would never be the same.

And she also knew that she'd never be able to leave her friends behind. Hoggle. Didymus. Ludo. And now Erna and Ivar.

Would it really be so bad to at least give Jareth a chance?

"Dinner!" Sarah barked out.

"Huh?" Jareth looked up at her, startled by her outburst.

"You owe me so many dinners," Sarah said sternly. "At fancy restaurants. The kind with dress-codes. And a pony! No, a unicorn! I think that all of the shit that you've put me through seems fitting that you repay me by giving me a unicorn!"

Jareth smiled brightly. He reached out, gently grabbed Sarah's hand, and tenderly kissed the back of it. "I will give you a stable full of unicorns, then, if that's what you want. I will also take you to places that'll make your world's five-star restaurants seem like fast food in comparison. Sarah. There is but one person that a king will ever kneel before. Do you know who that is?" She shook her head, her eyes wide. "His queen." He stood and grasped Sarah's hands between his own. "But I do believe that there is another wish that you will want granted, and it must happen right away."

In an instant, they no longer stood in Marit's library. The guards and everybody else was gone. Only Sarah and Jareth remained.

Sarah was startled to see Jareth wearing a simple button down shirt and black slacks. His long hair was swept back into a low ponytail at the nape of his neck. A miniature version of the emblem that he wore around his neck dangled from a chain on his ear. Sarah then looked down at herself, and realized that he'd put her in a simple navy tea-dress that matched her goblin slippers.

Jareth then gestured towards the house that they stood in front of. Sarah realized with a pang that it was her family home. And that something was happening inside.

"What's going on?" Sarah asked with confusion.

"Toby graduated from high school today," Jareth explained.

"What? Already? He was only ten when I left! How could he be eighteen already?!" Sarah gasped out with surprise.

"Time passes differently in the Underworld," Jareth said. "I can't make up for any of this, as I've already said to you. But I can help to set things right between you and your family."

Sarah walked up the steps, but her courage faltered as she reached up to press the doorbell. Jareth stepped up behind her and reached out to press it for her.

"Coming!" a voice said from inside. The door opened a moment later, and a man looked out at them. Jareth, being a foot taller than Sarah, drew the man's gaze first. He looked at the Goblin King with confusion before he looked down to Sarah. "…Sarah? Is that you?"

That's when Sarah realized who it was. When she'd left, he'd barely come up to her chest. Now he towered above her, almost as tall as Jareth was. "Toby!" Sarah exclaimed. The siblings clung to one another, almost as if they were afraid that if they let go, the other would disappear.

They finally stepped back from one another, but they didn't release the other. "Toby, who's at the door?" Irene called out from the kitchen.

"Mom, dad!" Toby exclaimed as he tugged Sarah towards the other room. "You'll never guess who it is!"

The room was filled with their relatives: aunts and uncles and cousins that Sarah hadn't even thought about for years and years now.

"Sarah!" Robert gasped out as he stood abruptly. He rushed over to her and embraced her. He finally pulled away and held her out at arm's length. "Where in the world have you been? Do you know how worried sick that we've been all these years? Never knowing what happened to you, if you were even alive or dead?"

"I'm sorry, dad, I-" Sarah started, but she was cut off by somebody coming up behind her and laying a hand on her shoulder.

Robert looked up, and so did Sarah. Jareth. "I must apologize, sir. For it was I who led your daughter astray. I did not mean to keep her for so long, but I can assure you that your daughter was in good hands the entire time that she was away." He held up a finger. "And before you ask: she left of her own free will, and returns also under her own free will."

"W-why don't we all sit down and have some more cake and punch?" Irene interrupted. "I feel like this is going to be a very long story."

* * *

Over the course of the next hour, Jareth helped Sarah tell the story of how the two of them first met when Sarah was fifteen years old. And then Jareth returned for her years later. It was her love for him that made her go crazy, until he came around and just swept her off her feet and whisked her away to Europe. Only then, Jareth was called away to fight in a conflict, and only just now returned.

"And you couldn't have called us? Or written? Dropped a postcard into the mail?" Robert asked with irritation.

"Love makes a young woman behave strangely," Irene spoke up. "Believe me: I was Sarah's age once. I know how it feels, to be so in love that everything else seems completely irrelevant."

"Well, I don't care why she left," Toby said. "I'm just glad that she's back now." He leaned over and hugged her tightly.

Their relatives began to drift away after that, clearly wanting to give the Williams family time with their daughter. After a bit, Toby, Sarah, and Jareth slipped out into the back yard.

"You're him, aren't you?" Toby asked. "The reason why Sarah couldn't contact us the entire time she was gone is because she wasn't anywhere that phones or the postal system exist."

"Yes," Sarah agreed. "Toby, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to leave you. But Jareth was just tormenting me so much! I wanted to go over there and just…" She made like she was squeezing something in front of her.

Toby looked up at Jareth and gave him a dark look. "I am not a child anymore. I don't care if you're the Goblin King. If you hurt my sister ever again, I will end you."

Jareth chuckled slightly. "Yes, I like him very much. I knew that you'd grow into such a strong-willed man, just like your sister. I know that the two of you would not enjoy to be separated right now, so I have a proposal for you, Toby. You've just graduated from high school, and you're considering your next step. After all, it's a big decision. Dartmouth. Harvard. Yale. Brown."

"Toby!" Sarah gasped with glee. She flung her arms around him once more. "You got accepted into all of those schools?!"

"I did," Toby agreed. "But now I'm curious as to what job that the Goblin King is going to offer me."

* * *

After sitting and talking with her parents and Toby for a little bit longer, Jareth and Sarah went for a walk to the park. The park where everything started. "I'm still a little confused about everything here," Sarah started.

"Yes?"

"Your grand plan," Sarah continued vaguely. "Everything fit together so well. But how could you have done it? Did you see into the future or something?"

"No, nothing like that. I simply asked people to do things for me. Some were easy. Others were more difficult. I've already told you about Hoggle's role in bringing you there, and setting you up with that maid job. About how I found other employment for their previous maid. But I also had to tell that dreadful Lady Marit to hire you, no matter what. And no matter how badly you screwed up, to never ever fire you, or else she and her entire daughters would be at the bottom of an oubliette. And then I threatened to send her to the bog if she ever told a soul about this. Looking back, I believe that some of her behavior towards you was because she wanted to be so horrible that you'd quit. And then it wouldn't be her fault. Lucia and Antonia probably just picked up on her wretched behavior.

"Later, when I set my plan into motion… Hoggle's role, again, you know about. I gave him your slippers. I told him to deliver the invitation to you personally, away from Marit and her daughters. I also told all of the Goblin Kingdom tailors that there would be a great prize to whoever secured a deal with Marit's daughters. Once somebody came to tell me that they had secured employment to make the dresses, I simply asked her to eye you up and give me an approximate measurement of you. So that I could get you your dress."

"But how did you know that I would even show up?"

"Yes, that one was tricky to ponder," Jareth said with a slight chuckle. "It took me the longest time to puzzle out how to even get you to go to the ball after Hoggle told me that you didn't want to go, and rejected the slippers. But in the end, the answer came in the most unexpected of ways: the cook."

"Erna? What did you do to her?"

"I did nothing to harm her!" Jareth said as he held his hands out in surrender. "I approached her the day before. I told her that it was important to me that Sarah attend the ball. She expressed to me that you had no desire to attend. So I told her that all she had to do was to make sure that you went up to your room after Marit and her daughters left for the ball, that you yourself would do the rest. Telling Ivar to go back and bring you to the castle was nothing. He wanted to do it, and he was eager to do so."

They were silent for a moment until they reached the lake. There, Jareth turned to look at her. "I have something else that I want to talk to you about. It's about the fate of Lady Marit."

"What about it? What are you planning to do to her?" Sarah asked.

Jareth shook his head slightly. "No. Not me. You."

"Me?" Sarah asked, her eyes wide.

"Yes," he agreed with a coy smile. "You're the one that they wronged. For years and years, you suffered their abuse. Even though you didn't have to. And I think that we both know it. At any time, you could have asked Hoggle to take you back home. But we aren't going to discuss why you didn't leave. I wanted to ask you to decide their fate. I could have them pushed into the bog, thrown into an oubliette, imprisoned, put in the stocks in the middle of the town… Oh, I hear that there's great fun to be had by suspending people upside down. Or-"

Sarah cut him off with a hand. "Enough," she said, and he fell silent.

Sarah gazed out over the lake as she considered this. The fate of Marit, Lucia, and Antonia rested in her hands now. She almost wanted to ask him to take back this offer; she didn't want to have that kind of power, even over people who, as he'd pointed out, had been cruel to her for years.

However, it didn't amuse her just a little bit to think about any of the things that he'd offered. It was tempting. However, she felt like a few unkind words and growing up in a society that actively praised people for not knowing how to dress themselves wasn't enough to justify shoving somebody into the bog.

So instead, she tried to think of something that would teach them a lesson.

She smiled slyly as an idea popped into her head. "I'm guessing that you've thought of something then?" Jareth asked her.

"Yes," she agreed. "You should prohibit them from ever seeking out another maid. Maybe even a cook. But maybe that's going too far? I don't want them to starve. I just want them to realize how hard it is that I worked for them. Just to get them dressed was a complete and utter chore. Not to mention the cleaning and picking up after them. Changing the bed, taking them their meals and everything. I think that it'll teach them a lesson. And the punishment is proportionate to the crime."

Jareth nodded. "If that's what you want, then I will make sure that the family never is able to hire anybody else ever again. And I'll make sure that Erna gives them lessons in cooking, too. After all, it would be a shame to make another cook work for them. And Erna is so old… She should retire and go live with her family."

"Yes," Sarah agreed as she offered him a gentle smile. "After all, if there's one person who deserves a happy ending, it's Erna."

* * *

In the end, Sarah didn't need to ride off into the sunset with a prince charming, or even a goblin king. She did need to realize that it's okay to grow up, and it's okay to admit that you've screwed up.

But the most important lesson that she learned was that even she she felt like she was in her After, there would always be a time when her After would become her Before.

* * *

Thank you so much for reading! If you enjoyed this, please take a second to send me a review and let me know!

Also, as I mentioned in the first chapter, this has not been proof-read. If you spotted any errors, please let me know so that I can go back and fix them. Many thanks!


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